Assemblyman Michael Cusick is seen on a video monitor that displays the live feed coming from the hearing room, as he asks a question of Joe Martens, center, the DEC commissioner, during a joint legislative budget hearing on the environment. less

Assemblyman Michael Cusick is seen on a video monitor that displays the live feed coming from the hearing room, as he asks a question of Joe Martens, center, the DEC commissioner, during a joint legislative ... more

Photo: Paul Buckowski / Times Union

Assemblyman Michael Cusick is seen on a video monitor that displays... Photo-5064023.68470 - Houston Chronicle

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Gary Lessard of Schenectady, N.Y., demonstrates as Joe Martens, commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, testifies before a joint budget hearing on the environment. Martens says his agency has no "timetable" for finishing shale gas drilling rules, with the completion date dependent on recommendations made by the health commissioner. If regulations aren’t finalized by Feb. 27, they’ll expire and will have to be put out for public comment again, which would likely extend the 4 ½-year-old drilling moratorium by months. less

Gary Lessard of Schenectady, N.Y., demonstrates as Joe Martens, commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, testifies before a joint budget hearing on the environment. Martens ... more